Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025
A Computerized Functional Skills Assessment and Training Program Targeting Technology Based Everyday Functional Skills
Published on: February 13, 2020
Feasibility and Clinical Effectiveness of Computer-Based Cognitive Rehabilitation in Illiterate and Low-Educated
Maria Christina Petri1, Lambros Messinis1, Panayiotis Patrikelis1
1Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Behavioural Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Objective:
We investigated the feasibility of the RehaCom cognitive rehabilitation software in illiterate and low-educated individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and its clinical effectiveness in improving cognitive functions.
Methods:
Twenty illiterate or low-educated individuals with MCI were randomly assigned to an intervention (IG; n = 10) and control group (CG; n = 10). The IG participated in the cognitive enhancement program for 6 weeks, twice a week and a duration of 50-60 min for each session, while the CG did not receive any kind of intervention.
Results:
The two groups were demographically matched. The IG successfully completed all sessions of the cognitive enhancement program. A within-subject comparison between baseline and post-intervention assessment of cognitive functions indicated that the IG improved significantly on all administered neuropsychological tests, in contrast to the CG, whose performance remained stable between baseline and final assessment. A between-group comparison found statistically significant differences between the IG and CG groups on the Hindi Mental State Examination, Mini-Mental State Examination, and on delayed memory and recognition tasks, in favor of the IG.
Conclusions:
The findings of the present study support the feasibility of applying computerized cognitive enhancement programs to illiterate and low-educated individuals. Moreover, these programs appear to contribute positively to improving the cognitive functions of this population group. In order to generalize and confirm similar findings in a broader population of illiterate and low-educated individuals, future studies should include larger samples, possibly with longer duration of treatment and control groups that will receive non-targeted interventions as placebo interventions.
